The UAE is trying to push dozens of countries to create a “Hormuz Security Force” to defend the strait from Iranian attacks and escort ​shipping, the report added.

The UAE has faced more Iranian attacks than ​any other country in the region, including Israel.

Several U.S. allies have ⁠said they have no immediate plans to send ships to unblock the ​Strait of Hormuz, rebuffing a Trump request for military support to keep the ​vital waterway open.

France said on Thursday it had held talks with around 35 countries seeking partners and proposals for a mission to reopen the strait, but only once the U.S.-Israeli war ​on Iran ends.

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which carries ​about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas, spiking energy prices and fuelling global inflation ‌fears.

The ⁠UAE is also working on a U.N. Security Council resolution with Bahrain to provide any future taskforce with a mandate, but Russia and China could oppose the move, the report added.

U.N. Security Council members have begun negotiating resolutions to protect commercial shipping ​in and around ​the Strait of ⁠Hormuz, including a Bahraini draft that would authorise the use of “all necessary means”, Reuters reported earlier this week.

Last week, a ​senior Emirati official said UAE may join a U.S.-led effort to ​protect shipping ⁠in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran all but shut the waterway to ships.

The waterway is vital to the economy of the UAE, a major oil exporter ⁠and ​trade hub. Iran has repeatedly attacked an Emirati ​port located outside the Gulf that is used to load oil exports.